TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Private companies shouldn’t be burned with land acquisition in infrastructure development: Apindo
Change Size
Residents pass by an overpass being constructed in Palembang, South Sumatra. (Antara/Feny Selly)
I
ndonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani has called on the government to take care of the problem of land acquisition before inviting private companies to take part in the development of the country’s infrastructure.
“The problem is that the government itself is not ready to do its part. Private companies are reluctant if they have to acquire land,” Hariyadi said as reported by kompas.com on Thursday.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo plans to develop infrastructure worth Rp 4.7 quadrillion (US$353.14 billion) through to 2019. The government is demanding that private companies develop 42 percent of the total projects, worth some Rp 1.97 quadrillion, and state-owned companies develop 25 percent of the projects. The remaining 33 percent will be funded by the state budget.
Hariyadi said the private sector was ready to contribute to infrastructure development as long as the government solved problems that might hinder the projects in the future.
Land acquisition has long posed a problem in the development of infrastructure. Rampant land speculators often acquire land marked for certain infrastructure projects beforehand so that when the projects are announced, they can cash in on the land sales. Such speculation can occur because the speculators usually attain leaked information about the projects. (bbn)
